Johannesburg (AFP)

Several major football championships are set to resume in Africa, starting with that of Morocco on Monday, which will be followed by those of Tunisia on August 2 and Egypt on August 6, against the backdrop of the continuing pandemic of the new coronavirus .

All of the national championships except Burundi's had ended by mid-March as COVID-19 began to develop.

Only since the footballers of Zambia had returned to the stadiums last Sunday, after a last postponement of 24,000 due to a series of positive cases.

African football officials are convinced that they can resume, behind closed doors, while respecting strict health protocols.

In Morocco, Wydad Casablanca, reigning champion, led the dance when their championship was stopped, ahead of FUS Rabat and Mouloudia Oujda.

Raja Casablanca, three-time African champion, only 6th but with 5 matches less, will begin their recovery operation on Monday against Difaa el Jadidi.

In Tunisia, Esperance Tunis, quadruple African champion, has 44 points ten steps ahead of CS Sfaxien with 10 matches remaining and is aiming for a fourth consecutive title.

In Egypt, Al Ahly leads halfway through the championship, with 49 points, far ahead of Al Mokawloon (33), Pyramids FC (32) and Zamalek (28).

Zamalek initially considered boycotting the Premier League "until a cure for the coronavirus is found", but changed their minds. After returning to training, he easily beat Smouha (5-1) in a friendly match.

In South Africa, the League bosses wanted to resume on July 18 and finish before August 31, but the referees will not be available until August 1. The controversy rages in the media and no resumption date has yet been given.

In Algeria, one of the African countries most affected by the pandemic, the current priority is to finish the Algerian Cup. Without giving a date, Algerian football officials hope that this competition can resume soon, with the return quarter-finals.

In the Democratic Republic of Congo, the championship was canceled in March, rather than wait for a possible resumption.

© 2020 AFP